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כי האדם עץ השדה
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When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siegeworks against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced.
Deuteronomy 20:19-20
Rabbi Yirmeya
once
said to Rabbi Zeira: Let the Master come and teach
a halakhic discourse. Rabbi Zeira
said to him: My heart is weak and I cannot
strain myself over a halakhic discourse. Rabbi Yirmeya replied to him: In that case,
let the Master tell us a matter of
aggada
,
which does not require as much effort. Rabbi Zeira
said to him
that
Rabbi Yoḥanan said as follows: What is
the meaning of that
which is written: “For man is a tree of the field”
(Deuteronomy 20:19)?
And is man
actually
a tree of the field?
…
Taanit 7a:6-7
כי האדם עץ השדה FOR IS THE TREE OF THE FIELD A MAN [THAT IT SHOULD BE BESIEGED BY THEE]? — כי has here the meaning of “possibly”, “perhaps” (cf. Rashi on Exodus 23:5) — is the tree of the field perhaps a man who is able to withdraw within the besieged city from before you, that it should be chastised by the suffering of famine and thirst like the inhabitants of the city? Why should you destroy it?
Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:19:3
“The Lord remembered Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as He had spoken” (Genesis 21:1).
“The Lord remembered Sarah as He had said.” That is what the verse said: “All the trees of the field will know that I, the Lord, have lowered a high tree, elevated a lowly tree” (Ezekiel 17:24) – Rabbi Yudan said: Not like those who speak but do not act, but rather, “I, the Lord, have spoken and acted” (Ezekiel 17:24). Where did He speak? “At the prescribed time, I will return to you… and Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18:14); and He acted…
Bereshit Rabbah 53:1
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